I just remembered that there's a crappy Miletich affiliate here in my town. I would say it's the competition to my school, except it isn't. They don't and can't compete. The guy was apparently affiliated with Royce, after Royce gave him a blue belt, then switched to Miletich last year. This was after he did point-fighting for years and one time when I was there, he was complaining about the trend toward MMA in MA in general, that he has now embraced because he can charge his students an extra $50/month for grappling classes.

"Dave Lochert usually does his fighting in the ring, but early Friday the rough stuff started in a beauty salon that a would-be robber with a hammer was trying to burgle.

Unfortunately for the thief, the salon is in the same building as the Champion Fight Club, which is owned by Lochert. He's trained in judo, ninjutsu, taekwondo, white crane kung fu, muay thai, boxing and kickboxing.

Lochert was in his downstairs facility doing last-minute planning for a weekend bout. Hearing glass shatter, he ran upstairs.

"I saw this guy standing at the back door," said Lochert. "Really, I couldn't figure it out. The salon leaves the empty cash box on the counter at the end of the day (to dissuade thieves)."

The man ran and Lochert gave chase. A block or so later, the man with the hammer turned to face Lochert, who had kept pace and was barreling toward him.

Their bodies collided as Lochert uncorked a punch to the man's stomach. Lochert popped him again and took away the hammer. Just then two police cruisers pulled up. "I called to them and told them I had the guy who broke into the business. Then I handed them the hammer," Lochert said."

"If the notion of pulling a break and enter ever crosses someone's thoughts, double-checking the type of business being targeted is a good idea.

One such attempt left a 22-year-old man bruised and bleeding and gift-wrapped for the police Wednesday afternoon. He tried ripping off the cash box from Champion Fight Club.

"It's safe to say they chose the wrong place," said police Staff Sgt. Gary Lewis. "We do not encourage people who are victims of thefts to get into a physical confrontation with a perpetrator but this is a bit different."

Police arrived to find club owner Dave Lochert wrestling down a suspect in front of the club at 211 Ave. D North. Two others wisely ran away, though one was later caught and the third is known to police.

The affable Lochert, with a goatee and shaved head, is trained in seven types of self-defence -- judo, ninjutsu, tae kwon do, white crane kung fu, muay thai, boxing and kickboxing. He has been Canada's champion breaker, ranked in Canada's top 10 for kickboxing and third in the World Kickboxing League.

He stands just 5-foot-9 and weighs in at 169 pounds but easily overpowered his 6-foot-4, 245-pound would-be thief.

"I didn't really notice (his size) because he was bent over most of the time," said Lochert, a former bouncer at various Saskatoon bars.

He was in his office, booking an upcoming fight card, when the commotion began around 2:30 p.m. He heard voices coming from the entranceway and knew the other person in the club was working out in a separate room.

Then he heard the unmistakable jingle of change and went for a look. A large man was holding the cash box and headed for the entrance.

The two accomplices were waiting at the front which caused Lochert to reconsider -- for a second or two.

"I didn't want the situation to get real bad, here," he said. "I assessed it and figured the other two were no problem, so I went after the big guy."

They scuffled in the stairwell and Lochert grabbed the cash box from a second man, to whom it had been passed. Then he turned to see the big guy putting a hand into his pocket.

"I didn't know if he had my money or was reaching for a knife," said Lochert, who bent the man's arm back and gave a quick chop to his neck.

The man went down and his buddies panicked, scrambling to pull him out. Lochert put an elbow against the man's throat and pinned him against the outside of the main entrance.

The man threw a punch at Lochert's head, but the martial-arts expert ducked and replied with an elbow and right hook.

Lochert then put the would-be thief in a choke hold and jammed a knee into his back, sending him onto the ground.

"He tried to get back up and said, 'I'm going to f-- you up,' " said Lochert. "So I fed him a few more punches and a couple of knees and he went back down."

A passerby called police, who took the bloodied suspect to the station.

Brian Bignell was charged with break, enter and theft, breaching an undertaking and obstructing police. He was also treated at hospital for minor injuries.

"I don't think he's too bad off," Lewis said.

Bignell appeared in court Thursday and was remanded for another appearance Friday morning.

A 19-year-old woman has also been charged with break, enter and theft and breach of an undertaking. As of Thursday afternoon, the third suspect, a male, had yet to be arrested.

Meanwhile, Lochert is not likely to be charged for the beating.

"Under the Criminal Code a person can use as much force as is necessary to protect their self and property," explained Lewis.

LOL, I've met Lochert and he's a piece of work for sure. Nothing says sexy like telling a guy who just made weight that his opponent has decided he won't fight if the guy doesn't suck a few more pounds below the agreed upon catch weight. This is after the guy made weight the day of the fight, had just seen the 'commission' and Lochert agree to his weight and after he's started rehydrating...

Saskatoon Training

I use to train at Champion before dave Lochert was in that crazy auto accident and he was traching most classes. From what I heard from a few of his instructors hes finally done physio and is back teaching the odd class and doing some training on his own. If this is the case I'll more than likely rejoin. Elmer's a good fighter but not the best at teaching students that aren't fighters.